Pace

The Clippers are no longer quite so selective these days. Their to-do list before the playoffs has changed from collecting marquee victories to collecting victories of any sort. A case of March malaise has left the team that once held the best record in the NBA in danger of opening the playoffs on the road. So a 101-72 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night at Staples Center was welcome even if it was ragged at times, particularly in the early going. Chris Paul shook off a horrid performance from 24 hours earlier to finish with 19 points on eight-for-10 shooting to go with nine assists, six rebounds and five steals.

Once there was a little boy who rode Henry Huntington's trolleys. He was 4 when he first took a Yellow Car all by himself, along Vermont Avenue to nursery school. His mother handed him off to the motorman and said he was going to the end of the line. Now that little boy is 88, his mother and the trolleys long gone. PHOTOS: Los Angeles' Pacific Electric Red Cars So is his grandfather's Rialto orange grove, where he was sent to help weed come summer. So are the horse-drawn wagons that used to deliver his morning milk.

Port and city officials have called for expediting planned upgrades at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to stave off the threat of losing cargo traffic when the $5.25-billion Panama Canal expansion is completed next year. At a hearing Friday at Los Angeles City Hall, state officials heard testimony from trade economists, shipping line representatives and labor groups on how the state can promote the ports so they keep their share of U.S. cargo traffic, which harbors on the East and Gulf coasts are eager to lure away.

The millennial generation is aggressively whittling down its debt, as young people forgo homes and cars, according to a new study. The median debt of households headed by people under age 35 fell 29% between 2007 and 2010, according to the analysis from the Pew Research Center. That compares to a mere 8% decline for households of those 35 and older. Even more impressive, the percentage of younger households with debt of any kind dipped to 78%, the lowest since the federal government began gathering the data in 1983, according to the study .  But it ain't coming easy.

The Pentagon will withdraw about half the 66,000 U.S. troops now in Afghanistan over the coming year, a steep reduction that reflects President Obama's determination to end America's role in the 11-year-old conflict. In his State of the Union address, Obama said 34,000 Americans would be brought home over the next 12 months, and further reductions will continue through the end of 2014, when all U.S. and other foreign troops are scheduled to leave. "American troops will come home from Afghanistan," Obama said.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. trade picture brightened at the close of last year as exports rose at a solid pace and imports of oil and other goods shrank in December, dropping the monthly trade deficit sharply and probably lifting fourth-quarter economic growth. The trade data Friday from the Commerce Department could be another sign of strengthening global growth. Chinese exports have surged in the last two months, and some major European nations also have seen a recent pickup in trade.

Oscar has become golden for advertisers. In years past, advertising sales for the annual Academy Awards show would stretch into February with last-minute spots selling during Oscar weekend. But this season, Walt Disney Co.-owned ABC had sold most of the show's commercial time before Christmas. The telecast is sold out, Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo said this week during a conference call with Wall Street analysts. It was the fastest pace for Oscar ad sales in more than a decade.

It's supposed to be the year of the point guard in boys' basketball in Southern California, with multiple players in contention for who's best. But in girls' basketball, there's one standard for excellence, and that's 5-foot-6 junior Jordin Canada of Los Angeles Windward. She's the best not just in California but maybe in the nation for what she does - control the ball and direct her team to victories. Windward is 21-0 and twice has beaten Southern Section 1AA powerhouse Long Beach Poly.

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details. Sales of newly built homes slipped in December from the month before but were still up from a year earlier, the government reported Friday. New homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 369,000 units, down 7.3% from November but up 8.8% from December 2011, the Commerce Department said. The median new-home sales price last month was $248,900. Video: Experts discuss Southern California's housing market For all of 2012, the government estimates that 367,000 new homes were sold, up 19.9% from 2011.

LA JOLLA - On a day ideal for ducks and lawns, the most famous Commodore in pro golf kept smiling and kept his head above water. Brandt Snedeker, the pride of Vanderbilt and the defending champion in this week's Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, went low on Thursday and high on Friday. That added up to a 65-75, left him with a four-under par total and didn't make a dent in that ever-present smile. If he is, someday soon, to become the face of the PGA Tour, they may need to change the logo from a swing to a grin.